News

Newark, N.J. (Wednesday, July 8, 2009) – The Jersey Express of the American Basketball Association bolstered their roster for their fifth season of play this week when they officially announced that former New Jersey City University forward Jamar Battle is joining the team. Battle, who stands 6-7, was named the 2003-04 New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Year after a stellar senior season at NJCU.

“Samar is a go-to guy who can either make a play for himself or his teammates,” Express President Marsha Blount commented. “His team-first attitude is a breath of fresh air, (especially when) coming from a player that both coaches feel is an NBA prospect. Our job is to get him to where we think he should be. We’re putting it out now; Battle is a prospect that should receive a lot of interest from overseas and NBA teams.”

Listed as a forward, Battle is a versatile player that can also play shooting guard. In his four year college career at NJCU in Jersey City, the East Orange native scored over 1500 points and his 156 blocked shots are the most in program history. He averaged 29.4 minutes per contest for the Gothic Knights, which also stands as the highest number in the school record books. He first padded his college resume by earning NJAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2001, and Battle capped off his collegiate career by winning a stack of postseason awards his senior year. He received NJAC Player of the Year, NJAC First Team, D-III NABC All-America and D3Hoops.com All-Atlantic Region First Team accolades after leading NJCU to a 22-7 record and an NJAC championship.

Battle most recently finished the Eastern Basketball Alliance season this past March with the Newark Rebels, leading the team by scoring 22.3 points per game.

The Jersey Express is a member of the American Basketball Association and is currently preparing for their fifth season in the ABA. When the team was founded in 2005 by Blount and Jacqueline Halyard, they hired legendary NBA dunker Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins as their inaugural head coach, and former Seton Hall standout Shaheen Holloway was brought in as their starting point guard. The Express reached the ABA postseason that first year and additionally sent six players overseas to continue their playing careers. For their second season, former NBA center Ron Moore took over as head coach, and the team had another competitive year. The Express have made the playoffs in each of their past two seasons and reached the ABA Elite Eight last year with former NBA guard Jerry “Ice” Reynolds at the helm. For more information on the Jersey Express, visit them on the web at www.jerseyexpress.net.